Five generations of Torrance family pose in one photo

Connie Schopp was an infant in this Torrance Herald photo from 1957 that captured five generations of her family.

In this five-generation portrait taken in October 2012, Connie Schopp is a grandmother, surrounded by her mother, Carolyn Graves, her grandfather, Louis Davis, her son, Steven Romanowski, and his 5-month-old daughters Samantha and Simone.

Connie Schopp has moved up a couple of notches in the family pecking order since her picture first appeared in a newspaper.

That was in 1957. Schopp had just been born. The photo was in a publication called the Torrance Herald. The occasion was to celebrate the fact that with her arrival, Schopp became the fifth generation of her family to be alive at the same time.

Surrounding the infant were her great-great-grandmother, her great-grandmother, her grandfather and her mother.

It was an unusual event even then, but Schopp now once again finds herself with five generations of her family, only this time, she's a grandmother.

The two older folks in the original picture, Minnie Long and Irene Rankin, have since died. But Schopp, her mother and grandfather were around to pose for both photos.

And this time, they were joined by her son, Steven Romanowski, and his twin 5-month-old daughters, Samantha and Simone.

"It was significant for the family to come together in October," Schopp said.

She attributes the family longevity to good genes, good luck and the fact that the family remains tight.

"My son, myself and my mother all live within two miles of each other," she said. My mom sees my grandfather (Louis Davis, who is now 93) two to three times a week. We have the good fortune to live close together."

And there's one other factor involved: Schopp's mom, Carolyn Graves, was only 17 when she gave birth, and her grandmother was only in her 30s.

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"I feel so fortunate being in my 50s," she said. "My peers are losing their parents and I still have my parents, as well as a grandparent, still alive. I feel very blessed."

The family also posed for a similar picture in the '70s when Schopp's son was born. But with people having children later in life, Schopp figures there won't be any more five-generation photos.

"This will probably be the last time we have this opportunity," said Schopp, who grew up in Torrance. "Samantha and Simone will probably be in their late 20s or 30s when they have children."

Schopp's mother, Carolyn Graves, said that while she was happy to have so much family around, it was a little alarming to see two pictures of herself taken 50 years apart.

"I'm old, but I love it," said the 73-year-old with a laugh. "I liked having my children young. It's hard to imagine waiting until you're 40."